The present invention relates to a debridement tip for irrigating and suctioning a wound or surgical site. More specifically, it relates to an improved debridement tip able to handle large amounts of debris without clogging and able to flexibly extend deep into the debridement site.
Debridement tips are widely used in surgical procedures and wound management to clean body tissues and are especially useful in orthopaedic cases. Debridement tips are most challenged when there is a large amount of debris to be suctioned away such as in hip revision surgery or in procedures that involve reaming or milling large quantities of bone or removing loose necrotic tissue. Prior tips clog quickly when presented with this type of debris. Some prior patents that teach using a filter in a suction tip include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,078,603; 5,076,787; 4,886,492; and 4,468,217.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,692,140 while not teaching the use of a filter, discloses an efficient debridement system comprising an inner cannula and an outer cannula. The inner cannula delivers irrigating fluid to the surgical site while the outer cannula simultaneously removes excess fluid and debris with suction.
Prior suction tips and debridement systems are typically constructed of rigid materials such as styrene, acrylic, polycarbonate, or other materials with a high durometer hardness, for example 98 Shore A or above. These prior tips are made rigid in part to prevent them from collapsing under high suction, especially when they become clogged. For this reason, if a rigid tip becomes clogged there is no readily apparent indication of the clogged condition. Furthermore, rigid tips are difficult to use in irregular canals, furrows, gutter wounds and trauma punctures because they do not bend to follow the wound.